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National Environment Management Authority

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Managing waste sustainably

Managing Waste Sustainably Every Kenyan has a right to a clean and healthy environment that is guaranteed under Article 42 of the Kenyan Constitution. However, that right comes with a responsibility that everyone should keep his or her environment clean, the NEMA Director General, Mamo B. Mamo, EBS has stated. The Director General was speaking when he joined the Principal Secretary for Environment and Climate Change, Eng. Festus Ngeno during the launch of the Sustainable Waste Innovation for a Future in Transition (SWIFT) programme organized by the Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC) at a Nairobi hotel. The programme is geared towards a circular, green and inclusive economy. “We came up with the only environmental framework law in 1999-the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) that wholistically looked into the environmental issues in the country. Before 1999, environmental laws were scattered into 78 statutes which were brought into one umbrella-EMCA,” the DG stated. He added that under the EMCA Act, there is inclusion of locus standi (the legal right to take anyone to court over environmental crimes). This was not there before EMCA 1999. For example, when the late Prof-Wangari Mathai took the then government to court over construction of a complex in Uhuru Park, the Court pronounced that she did not have the locus standi and the case was thrown out. This has now been addressed under EMCA. “Kenyans being very litigious, I now have 104 cases in court,” the DG poised. In 2009, the waste management regulations were developed to address the issues of waste segregation at the household level. Further, in 2015, the National Solid Waste Management Strategy was developed to look into the issue of waste generation, transportation and disposal at the dumping sites. The Authority gave Counties 10 minimum points to enhance waste management from point of collection to dumping. https://twitter.com/NemaKenya/status/1758047703324401766

Do you agree?

25 more agrees trigger contact with the recipient

  • Ann Nyambura

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    28 w

    Sustainable waste management is not just a legal obligation but a moral imperative.

    1
    • Chris Ndungu

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      36 w

      True, I accede with NEMA! maintaining & keeping the environment clean is a role that need to be played by everyone.

      2
      • George Kariuki

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        37 w

        The SWIFT program's focus on circularity is commendable, but more needs to be done to promote waste reduction, reuse, and recycling across various sectors.

        4
        • Grace Njeri

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          25 w

          @george_kariuki By reducing waste production, reusing materials, and recycling materials, we can conserve natural resources, reduce pollution, and minimise waste

        • Joseph Githinji

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          37 w

          Great commitment from NEMA to improve waste management in Kenya. I wish all of us can embrace this policy of waste segregation to enhance waste management and reduce wastages in a bid to create a sustainable future.

          6

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